I am interested in understanding the molecular basis of a non-Mendelian form of inheritance called genomic imprinting. It is a type of gene regulation in mammals that distinguishes the parental origin of autosomal alleles. The effect of this is to silence parental allele and activate the other allele at an imprinted locus. This type of regulatory process (chromosomal imbalances, translocation, and other mutations) result in abnormal development or tumorigenic phenotypes. The distinguishing events are initiated in the development or tumorigenic phenotypes. The distinguishing events are initiate in the parental germ lines, probably as epigentically derived markings or imprints, that are then transmitted to the offspring. The objectives of this research are to understand the molecular nature of the imprint, how the imprints are stably and faithfully transmitted to the embryo, and how these ultimately affect transriptional activity. This information will improve our understanding of normal development, as well as our understanding of molecular events in cellular transformation.